Nut-holding socket wrench



Aug. 28, 1951, E; s RuNK NUT-HOLDING SOCKET WRENCH Filed April 25. 1949 INVENTOR. H1422 YE Sneumg Patented Aug. 28, 1951 UNITED. OFFICE NUT-HOLDING: sookrrr WRENCH that. .Strunk, Berkeley, Calif; Application April25, 1949, Serial No; 89,509

This invention relates to socket wrenches of the type disclosed in pending: application Serial No. 662,237 filed. April 15, 1-946. andz-now 3 133.11

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'It is frequently necessary to apply nutstoor remove them from machine screws, bolts, studs or the like located-at pointsinaccessible to 'a per sons hands or fingers in the assembly-andservicing of complicated apparatus such asradio sets, instrument panels on airplanes, -motor vehicles, and the like, engines and other machines.- -While long and slender shank socket wrencheshave been employed in'doing such-work, it-frequently happens thatthe nut is dropped from the-wrench socket and into the mechanism so thatmuchtime is'lost inrecovering it The invention contemplates a "wrench of this character having manually actuated means for holdi ng i a single nut in the socket and for releasing it.

The object of the inventionis to provide a nutholding socket wrench-which is of extremely simple construction. having only one movable part, which is light in weight yet strongandsturdy so as it will not be likely togetout .of-order, and which may be operated entirely by one hand of the user-to pick up a nut from a bench orthelike and apply itto a relatively inaccessible screw;:or to remove a nut from such a screw and retain the nut in the wrench socket until itis manuallydischarged from the socket.

The above and other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description of the present preferred embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation of the wrench,

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view,

Fig. 3 is a detail section on an enlarged scale through the socket end of the wrench and showing a nut in the socket,

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing a nut about to be applied to a relatively inaccessible screw, and

Fig. 5 is an end view of the wrench.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, the numeral l0 denotes the tubular shank or body of the wrench which is shown as formed at its rear end with an enlarged integral socket portion H. The elongated shank which is made of a suitable metal may be coated with a plastic electric insulation but as shown its front portion has an enlarged cylindrical hand grip ii of wood, plastic or other material. The outer surface of the hand grip portion may be knurled, serrated or otherwise formed to prevent the tool from slip- '1 Claim. (01. 81-425) ping in'the hand. In the portion i I is formed an outwardly open nut receiving socket I3 of a size to receive a single nut. The socket may beof hexagonal shape as seen in Fig. 5, or it may be a twelve point socket or' of any other shape toenease the flat outerface or faces of a nut. In depth the socket is 'substantially the height-or thickness of the nut so" that the latter substantiallyfills the socket and one of the ends of the nut will abut the bottom wall M of the socket'as shown in Figs. 3 and i. The shank or body It] is formed with a through bore or passage iii which is preferably cylindrical and of'uniform diameter. The front end ofthe' bore l5 opens through the wall it of the socket, the bore being concentric with the'threaded bore or hole through the nut and of the same diameter or slightly larger as seeninFig.3.

For the purpose of holding the nut in the socket I provide a manually operable plunger 16 in the boreofthe tubular shank, The plungerext'ends beyond the rear 'end of the shank and may be provided with an operating knob or head I! to abut said end and limit the inwardmovernentof theplunger as seen in Fig. 2. The plunger is of such length that its front end projects about halfway into'thesocket I3 when the combined finger piece and-top H engages the rear end ofthe shank." The knob may be threaded on the plunger or otherwise attached and it is preferably of cylindrical shape with its outer surface knurled or serrated. In order to frictionally retain the nut in the socket when the parts are in the position shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the plunger has at least at its front end a resilient and laterally deflected portion l8 which frictionally engages the screw threads in the nut. Preferably the entire plunger is formed from a cylindrical resilient metal rod of uniform diameter which is bowed or curved longitudinally from end to end so that it has a three point contact with the bore [5 of the shank. In other words the plunger rod 16 is so shaped and tensioned that its front end portion will engage the bore at E9 close to the front end of the shank, its rear end portion will engage the bore close to its rear end or the threads in the nut as seen in Figs. 3 and 4, and the center or some intermediate portion, as at 20, will engage the wall of the bore between the ends of the latter. It will be noted that both the bore and the rod have uniform diameters or cross-sectional shapes, and since the rod is permanently and uni formly bowed throughout its length, its end portions will engage the same side of the bore at longitudinally spaced end portions thereof while the central portion of the rod engages the central portion of the opposite side of the bore. The end portion l8 may be formed with a rounded head to facilitate its entrance into the bore of the nut when the knob is pushed down against the front end of the shank but I preferably bevel said end as at 2|. The plunger rod may be entirely withdrawn from the bore of the shank if desired so that the tool may be used as an ordinary socket wrench, but the three point frictional engagement of the rod with the shank bore will hold it in the shank at various positions.

In using the tool the rod is moved by manipulating the finger knob IT to position the beveled end l8 in the bore as seen in Fig. 3. The socket may then be placed over a nut on a bench, table or other support and the knob is-then moved against the rear end of the shank to cause the beveled end of the rod to spring into the nut and frictionally engage the threads of the same as shown in Fig. 4. The nut is then threaded on "a screw S which might be in the bottom of a small recess R in a part P as in Fig. 4. As the nut is turned down upon the screw the latter will push the rod out of the nut, and since the rod may slide upwardly to any extent in the shank it is immaterial to what extent the screw may project through the nut. In removing the nut from, the screw, the end l8 of the rod will be moved into the shank bore, and after the nut is almost off of the screw, the finger knob is moved downwardly to cause the end l8 to enter the nut and frictionally retain the latter in the socket until released by upward movement of the end I8 into the bore l5. It will be seen that the tool is extremely simple having but one movable part, and hence may be made at a small cost. The shank may be made of tubing of uniform diameter inside and out. In addition the tool is light in weight but very strong and sturdy so that it is not likely to get out of order. It may be operated entirely by one hand leaving the other free to hold the device or apparatus being assembled or serviced. It has been found that the tool will save a great deal of time since it may be used to pick up a nut from a bench and apply it to a screw, or to remove a nut from a screw and retain it in the socket until released. The construction is such that tool may be used in places inaccessible to the users hands or fingers and there is no danger of the nut accidentally dropping from the socket into an intricate mechanism or a place from which it would be diificult to reach the nut.

While one preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail, it is to be understood that variations in the form, proportion and arrangement of parts are possible and contemplated within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claim which follows.

. Iclaim:

A nut applying and removal wrench comprising a slender tubular shank having at its front end a forwardly open nut socket to receive a single nut'and prevent it from rotating in said socket, said shank having a straight, through bore of uniform cross-sectional shape which opens into the bottom of said socket, a manually operable, nut retaining and releasing plunger longitudinally movable in the bore of said shank and frictionally retained therein, said plunger comprising a single resilient rod of uniform crosssectional shape and of a length greater than the length of said bore, said resilient rod having a permanent longitudinal bow from end to end to cause its end portions to frictionally engage end portions of said bore at longitudinally alined points on one side of said bore while its central portion frictionally engages the opposite side of said bore adjacent the central portion of the latter, said rod havingits front end provided with a beveled portion to enter and frictionally engage the threads in a nutin said socket, and a combined finger piece and stop on the projecting rear end of said rod engageable with the rear end of said shank to limit the movement of said beveled front -end of said rod into the nut.

' HARRY E. STRUNK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: i

UNITED, STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 851,181 McMurtry Apr. 23, 1907 2,264,573 Johnson et al Dec. 2, 1941 2,502,025 Raup Mar. 28, 1950 

